Berk: Year One
by Marty the Martian
Summary: Now that Hiccup the One Legged Wonder is home on Berk and awake again, there is much for he and the other Vikings to get used to with their new dragons (and for Hiccup and Astrid, a new relationship). This will be several short stories covering the first year after the Dragon War's end with Hicstrid, humour and adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone. I have a lot of work to do on my fourth story and so I thought it might be fun to do some short stories and one shots to fill in the time between Hiccup defeating the Red Death and 'How to deal with a Seasick Dragon (Story the 2****nd****) and this is the start. I can't say how much there will be or how much time will pass between posts but I do hope that it brings you a little joy. (Moon says hi =^..^=)**

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1 First Date

Part 1

There was a time when Hiccup could not even look at her and smile without risking his life or at least some kind of serious injury but now all that had changed; he had stood up to Astrid and half demanded and half begged to be given the opportunity to show her why she should not tell the whole village about his dragon and she had reluctantly agreed to his request. Looking back, Hiccup thought of how well that first flight had gone, even though it did have many ups and downs (both figurative and literal) but it had ended with Astrid agreeing to give him some time to work out a solution to his problem as well as the most wonderful kiss on the cheek; the memory of which still made his heart rate increase.

So much had changed in Berk since that incredible night; the island was now free from all dragon attacks (although it was full of dragons), Hiccups friends and neighbours now saw him as a hero instead of a failure, he had decreased his limb count by 25% and Astrid now smiled at him every time their eyes met instead of looking nauseated. For the most part then, life was much better for Hiccup these days, but one very important thing still remained undone and today was the day that he was determined to have that last remaining oversight taken care of.

"Hey Hiccup" Astrid called out as he half limped down the steps that lead from his home to the forge with his dragon close by his side "still having a little leg trouble?"

"It's taking a bit of getting used to" he replied "but it's only been a few days so... give it time and I'll get used to it."

"Of course you will" she smiled that smile that turned Hiccups legs into jelly – even the metal one; how did she do that?

"I was wondering if you could help me today to make a saddle like yours for Stormfly" Astrid asked.

"I am sorry Astrid but I've got other plans for today."

"Oh... fair enough" she was slightly taken aback.

"Yes... you see... there's this... girl and I really like her so... as you can see here, I've packed this basket with some food in it" he opened the basket for Astrid to see inside "and I'm going to ask her to come with me on a date... a picnic."

"Ah" Astrid smirked "so if this girl... is she pretty?"

"Pretty? Nah... she is stunningly beautiful."

"Right... so if this 'Stunningly Beautiful' girl agrees to go on this date with you, then you can't help me with my saddle today."

"That about sums it up" Hiccup nodded.

"But if she refuses you... then perhaps..."

"Oh no" Hiccup frowned and shook his head "if she refuses me then I'll be far too upset to do any work today... or this week... month perhaps."

"Well in that case" she sighed "I suppose I'll just have to wish you luck."

"Thank you" he smiled and put down his basket.

Hiccup stepped forward and stood in front of Astrid taking her hands in his.

"Astrid... I have packed this small basket with food and I am hoping that you will please come on a picnic with me today."

"Oh... what?" she feigned "It's me? What a surprise; I never realised..."

"Come on Astrid" Hiccup pretended to get mad.

"Yes" she smirked "I would love to go on a picnic date with you."

"Wonderful; I've picked out a lovely little island close by and..."

"That will have to wait" she smiled and began to walk off "I have to go and get ready; put on some nice clothes... and armour, saddle my dragon... oh wait... I don't have a saddle yet do I? I wonder who's fault that is?"

Hiccup grinned like a Cheshire Dragon as he watched her go.

"YESSS" he declared to the world and began to dance around in a tight circle much to the surprise of Toothless and several Vikings passing by.


	2. Chapter 2

2 First Date

Part 2

"I like your skirt" Hiccup noted as he and Astrid flew side by side to a small island west of Berk.

"Thank you; since you went to all the trouble of preparing for today, I thought dressing up was the least that I could do" she smiled

'Dressing up' she called it but Astrid looked almost exactly the same as she always did except for the fact that her metal shoulder armour and the spike studs that embellished her skirt shone brightly in the morning sunlight. There could be no doubt about it; she was a true Viking through and through. Toothless and Stormfly soon passed over the south eastern coast of the island and made their way towards the short peaked mountain on its northern edge. They came in to land near to a rock overhang at the base of the mountain that was a little smaller but very similar to the one that towered over the arena back home. Hiccup had obviously been here before because a small area had been cleared with a ring of rocks and a small pile of fire wood set up near a log seat.

"Hmmm" Astrid looked around "you've been busy."

"Well you did go to all the trouble of dressing up" Hiccup grinned "so I thought this was the least I could do."

"Yeah right" she smirked.

"Toothless; if you please" Hiccup gestured to a small pile of rocks in the centre of the circle and his dragon obliged by heating them up till they were glowing almost white hot. He walked to the back of the rock overhang where he had stashed a canvas roll that he then proceeded to unroll near the fire place as a picnic rug but when opened it also revealed the parts of a small roasting spit.

"Could you get me the chicken please" Hiccup asked as set up the triangular uprights over the glowing rocks.

Astrid brought the basket over to the canvas and removed the lid and found amongst the foodstuffs inside was a good sized dressed chicken wrapped in a clean cloth; she unwrapped it and gave it to Hiccup who slid it onto the spit bar and placed it over the hot rocks.

"That is going to take a while" she noted "even with the dragon assisted cooking method."

"Are you in any hurry?" Hiccup grinned.

"Well... no; not really" she sat down and made herself comfortable next to him.

"What else have you got in this basket of yours?" Astrid went through the basket and brought out all its contents while Hiccup slowly turned the spit roast.

"Not a bad little spread" she nodded as she pondered the breads, cheeses, jerky and mead "in fact this all would have been enough even without the chicken."

"True... but I did want to prove myself to be a good provider" Hiccup declared as he kissed the back of her hand.

"Oh Hiccup" she smirked "we have only been a couple for about a week..."

"Two days" He corrected.

"I'm taking a liberty because you were unconscious for most of the time."

"Oh yeah... I keep forgetting."

"As I was saying; it's only been a week and you don't have to be so anxious to impress me."

"Well... I am glad about that but it would be much easier to be patient if I didn't have to listen to Snotlout constantly telling me and anyone else in earshot of how he is going to marry you one day."

"He can say it all he wants" Astrid huffed "but it ain't gonna happen; not as long as I have any say in it and if he ever says anything like that within earshot of me, then I will shoot him in the ear."

A dragon is a marvellous companion to have most of the time but when that dragon is unable to fly by itself and gets bored very easily, it can soon become a major distraction during a romantic tete-a-tete and Toothless was just such a dragon.

"Oh come on Toothless" Hiccup implored the dragon as it tried to get his attention by pushing him roughly with its nose "can't you let us enjoy our lunch? It's not even cooked yet."

Astrid could not help but giggle at Hiccups frustration but she soon came to his rescue.

"Stormfly!" she called before giving her dragon some subtle hand signals.

The big blue Nadder rose up and approached the Night Fury quietly from behind.

"RAAHK" she cried out causing Toothless to jump up in surprise.

It only took Toothless a few seconds to recover from the shock but in that time Stormfly had pulled a ten foot sapling from the ground nearby and so as he roared back to show his annoyance, she shoved the leafy end of the tree into his mouth and muffled his cry. Astrid and Hiccup could not help but laugh uncontrollably as Stormfly fled into the forest hotly pursued by one slightly miffed Night Fury.

"There we go" Astrid declared with satisfaction "that should keep him entertained for a while."

"How did you...?" Hiccup began.

"You may be the Dragon Master my sweet but I've learnt a thing or two as well" Astrid grinned.


	3. Chapter 3

3 First Date

Part 3

"I think it's almost done" Astrid declared as she continued to slowly turn the roast chicken over the hot rocks.

Hiccup had wanted to do all the work of turning the bird himself in some vain attempt to impress Astrid but she had insisted that if they were going to be together then they should be able to work together whenever they could.

"There are lots of things that I will have to entrust to you" she had argued "just as there will be many that you must leave to me but it is always good, and romantic, when we can do things together" and that was something Hiccup simply could not argue against; especially when she had used the word romantic.

Viking meals are normally just for the consuming of massive amounts of protein in the interest of keeping up a Vikings strength as well as keeping out the cold with the occasional feast for social reasons but this meal was something else altogether. Rather than devouring their food with gusto in the manor of a Gobber or a Snotlout, Hiccup and Astrid spent most of their time picking out little succulent morsels and feeding them delicately to each other occasionally punctuated with a small kiss although Astrid would occasionally place a chicken bone in Hiccups ear or up his nose before she would roll around giggling at the sight she had created.

"I'm glad to see that you're enjoying yourself so much" Hiccup sighed as he removed yet another piece of poultry from one of his facial orifices.

"Well what put you in such a fowl mood? Astrid smirked before she fell back laughing once more.

Not many Vikings would bother to put napkins in a picnic basket; then again most Vikings were not really big on picnics in the first place but Hiccup of course was not your average Viking and so at least he had the means to clean himself up after Astrid had finished with her little game.

"If I didn't love you so much..." he began to say.

"Do you really?" she interrupted.

Hiccup looked into her eyes and was surprised at what he saw; this was no flippant question but a serious enquiry.

"Yes... yes you know I do."

"But why... I mean... I know how long you've have... had feelings for me but... when you think about the way I've treated you in the past..."

"You didn't treat me any worse than anyone else did."

"That's not true and you know it" she protested "for a while back in training I... I hated you."

Astrid's mood had swung from one extreme to another; this was not the strong and confident Astrid that Hiccup had known for so long and he began to realise just how deep her thoughts and emotions truly ran as she desperately tried to stop herself from crying and she would have succeeded too if Hiccup hadn't reached out and held her close in his arms.

"I don't understand" he said between her sobs "you've got nothing to be ashamed of; you've been wonderful to me and my dad told me about how you took such good care of me after..."

"I think about you every night" she interrupted again.

"Well... that's good... I think about you too."

"What?" she asked "What do you think about?"

"Oh... your face, your hair, your smile, your voice..." Hiccup could not help but smile.

"I think about the way you would look back in the arena after I... had shouted at you; the fear in your eyes when I would threaten you..." she broke down and sobbed again as she held him tightly.

"I'm sorry Hiccup... I really am so sorry."

"It's not your fault you know; I did make a mess of everything back then."

"STOP BEING SO NICE TO ME" she thumped her fist on his shoulder almost demanding him to get angry with her "I don't deserve it."

"Now that's funny because I always find myself thinking of how I don't deserve you."

"Oh you deserve someone much better than me..." she began.

"NOW STOP THAT" Hiccup really was mad now "yes we've had our problems and yes we've both done things and said things that we wish we hadn't... but we can't dwell on them forever. Okay, I may think that I don't deserve you but you have to know however that I want you... and I hope that you want me too."

Astrid inhaled sharply and looked up; although there were tears still welling up inside, all Hiccup could see was the fire in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his head and kissed him like he'd never been kissed before.

'Oh my' he thought 'our third kiss; I wonder how long it will be before I lose count? Does the kiss she gave me on the cheek count? I wonder if she kissed me while I was unconscious on Dragon Island. This one is incredible; I never dreamt that Astrid could be so passionate. Why am I thinking like this while she's kissing me? For that matter what am I supposed to think about while she's kissing me?'

"Does that answer your question? Astrid asked.

"What...? err..." so much had gone through Hiccups mind in the last twenty three seconds that he could not hope to remember the last thing he had said to her if his life had depended on it.

While Hiccup wallowed in confusion, Astrid got to her feet and went to the pile of firewood that Hiccup had placed nearby and she placed some of the smaller pieces in a neat tent pattern over the hot rocks before returning to the pile for a few logs. Hiccup lay back on the canvas sheet and tried to lower his heart rate again but he certainly had no hope of wiping the massive smile off of his face. After a few minutes of blowing on the smouldering sticks Astrid managed to get the fire to burst into life so she placed a few logs on top and turned back around.

"What are you looking so happy about" she grinned.


	4. Chapter 4

4 First Date

Part 4

Every single Vikings on Berk had an item or two in their possession that they considered to be one of their favourites and due to the extremely cold winters that they would suffer annually, warm woollen mittens were high on more than one persons list (although Big Freya was the only one on the island who had a thing for bright copper kettles). There were three items on Astrid's mental list of favourites and they were, in ascending order, her axe (well it did used to be her mother's) with Stormfly at number two and Hiccup, naturally in the top spot.

What Astrid liked most about her axe was that split second in time when she had already lined herself up and was in the position of mid throw just before she would release the flying weapon from her hand. With Stormfly there was that exciting moment when the dragon would take a step back and brace herself just before lifting off into the sky. Astrid however had only just discovered her brand new, number one favourite place to be in the whole wide world and it was lying on her left side with her head on Hiccups right shoulder as he reclined in front of a crackling fire; right now this was perfection.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked after fifteen minutes of silence.

"You should be able to work that out" Hiccup smiled.

Astrid thought for a moment about the young man at her side and the kind of person he was; she smiled too.

"You're thinking about me and what you should say next and if I'm not mistaken, you're a bit worried that you'll say the wrong thing."

"Wow... that's amazing."

"Am I right?"

"Completely but I thought that you would only get the first bit about me thinking of you."

"I think about you a lot" she confessed.

"If you're still worried about the past, I want you to put it behind you."

"Oh?" she looked up "And have you managed to put your past behind you?"

Hiccup looked into those passionate eyes and his heart melted once again.

"Alright... I admit... it's not easy... but we have new lives now; a new Berk so we're all gonna have to look at the past as nothing more than something to learn from not something to dwell on and regret."

"That is so profound" Astrid nodded "you are going to make a great chief someday."

"I know I just implied that we should look to the future but I'm not ready for that future yet."

Astrid considered what Hiccup had just said and could not help but agree; she could almost sense the love that she felt for him growing inside of her soul but the thought that they would someday marry and start a family was already beginning to frighten the young girl who had spent so many years trying to avoid the advances of the boys around her but as she lay by Hiccups side and watched the hypnotic flames of the fire in front of her, she felt a great comfort in the fact that she would still have a lot of time (years perhaps) to get used to the idea and maybe even one day, begin to look forward to it all.

"Do you think we should start to pack up?" Hiccup asked although his tone of voice told Astrid that he didn't really want to.

"No great hurry I suppose; looking as the sun I'd say that we still have another four hours of daylight left at least and the dragons seem to be having fun."

As if to prove her point, another loud crash echoed through the woods.

"What are they doing out there?" Hiccup pondered.

"Shall we go and find out?" Astrid leapt up with a huge grin on her face.

"Why not" he agreed as Astrid helped him up onto his feet... well... foot.

"Come on Hiccup" Astrid giggled as she half dragged him down through the woods "you're slower than a snail."

"Alright, alright" he laughed "I'm doing my best."

Astrid was so determined to have some fun with Hiccup after her little 'After lunch emotional outburst' that she completely forgot about the trouble that he was having with his new leg and Hiccup was not about to use it as an excuse as he had a few days ago.

"LOOK OUT DRAGONS" he cried out "YOU'LL NEVER ESCAPE FROM US."

As they ran on together hand in hand, Astrid could just see the two dragons in the distance playing Tug-of-War with a small log. Toothless was glistening in the sunlight and so she realised that they must have spent some of their time down at the beach frolicking in the sea.

"DRAGONS AHEAD CAPTAIN" she reported."

"PREPARE TO FLANK THE..." Hiccup never finished his sentence as he crashed to the ground.

Astrid was running down the hill so fast that she could not stop straight away so his hand was ripped out of her grasp but when she turned her head to see what had happened, her heart leapt into her mouth as she saw his leg arc above her head and Hiccup splayed out in the dirt.


	5. Chapter 5

5 First Date

Part 5

"On no" Astrid was filled with fear as the boy she loved so dearly came to rest on the ground behind her.

"HICCUP... are you alright?" she pleaded as she rushed over and fell at his side.

"PHFFT... I think so" he replied after spitting out a mouthful of dirt and leaves "what happened to my leg?"

Astrid could not think about his leg at the moment for as soon as it became clear that he was alright, she just held him tight in her arms and rocked back and forth for almost a minute.

"Thank goodness" she sighed "I was so scared."

"It's alright Astrid; it wasn't my good leg that came off but do you think that you could get it for me... please?"

"Oh... yes... of course" she came to her senses and went to retrieve the wayward limb.

Hiccup studied his false leg for a few moments while Astrid apologised a dozen times or more until he eventually worked out what had gone wrong.

"I should have checked on this sooner" he concluded "these leather bindings are way too narrow; the leg felt like it was strapped on tight but that was just because I could feel them cutting into the skin. If I make them three or four times broader, then I should get a tighter and more comfortable fit so you can stop apologising because it clearly wasn't your fault."

"Really? I thought it happened because we were running way to fast."

"Gobber designed it for running; hence the spring mechanism but you have to remember Astrid that it took me several attempts to get Toothless's tail right before he could fly properly and this leg is no different."

"That's a relief" she sighed "well I suppose that I'd better go and clean up our picnic site and get you back home."

"Just put the fire out" Hiccup smiled "I'll come back and take care of the rest when my leg is fixed; remember that I did set up this whole picnic just for you so you should not have to clean up afterwards."

"Have you forgotten already what I said about us working together" Astrid declared.

"Okay but leave it anyway and when I'm up and about again I'll come and help."

"Sounds like a good excuse for another picnic too" she smiled as stood up and called to her dragon.

"I'll have to show you how to operate the tail controls" Hiccup thought as Stormfly crashed through the forest with Toothless hot on her heels.

"Oh there's no need" Astrid grinned "I've already ridden him before when you were still out cold after the whole Dragon Island thing."

"You did?"

"Gobber needed a test pilot" she shrugged.

"And is there anything else you did back then that I should know about?" he asked.

"Yes... but I'm not telling."

Astrid ordered Stormfly to lie down as she helped Hiccup onto her back while Toothless sniffed at the missing limb.

"I'm okay bud, it was just a little accident" he comforted the dragon.

It only took a few minutes for them to walk back up to the picnic site and for Astrid to throw some dirt on the fire to extinguish it. She stashed the basket and some of their gear up against the overhang before she returned to check on Hiccup."

"Maybe I should carry your leg back for you" she offered.

"I'll be fine" he replied "maybe we should have stayed home and worked on your saddle today after all."

"Are you kidding? With all that we talked about and got sorted out, I would not have missed this for anything" Astrid declared as she reached up and grabbed Hiccups collar for another kiss.

"Mmmm... four" Hiccup closed his eyes and grinned.

"Four?" Astrid looked confused "are you grading my kisses? And if you are then it had better be on a scale of one to five."

Hiccup could not help but smile at the look on her face.

"No... if I were grading your kisses on a scale of five then that one would have been a forty two but what I meant was, that was our fourth kiss."

Astrid pondered for a moment.

"No... that was our third; the day you woke up, earlier on today and that one."

"Your forgetting the night we returned from our first flight to Dragon Island."

"I just kissed you on the cheek; that doesn't count."

"Of course it does" Hiccup argued "that kiss meant a lot to me; it marked the time when your feelings had first changed towards me."

"Yes but it still doesn't count."

"Does so too" Hiccup mumbled.

"Nope" Astrid grinned as she climbed onto Toothless "and besides; if it did then the tally would be five."

"I knew it" Hiccup laughed "you did kiss me while I was still unconscious."

Astrid smiled and poked out her tongue at him.

"THREE!" she called out as she urged Toothless on into the sky.

He took one last look around at the site of their eventful day; it seemed that so much had gone wrong with this first date but Hiccup could not be happier.

"Come on girl" he patted Stormfly's neck "let's go home.

FIN

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**Two short chapters - that was all it was supposed to be... TWO! What happened? Oh well... I'll put more up as soon as I come up with another Year One story. Thanks for reading, Marty.**


	6. Chapter 6

**This is something a little different for me, a romantic mystery story. It is set a few days after 'First Date' which puts it about a week after the first movie. Hope you like it :-)**

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The Case of the Fickle Lady

Chapter 1: Love Springs Eternal

I was sitting by the fire in my favourite chair, in the rooms that I shared with my sister at 221b Gobber Street, contemplating my future as I read from my favourite book. Even though I had perused its pages many times before, this book still firmly held my interest due to its excellent plot and progressive tale. I turned the page to begin chapter four and was pleased to discover that 'D is for Dragon'. The vibrant picture of the Terrible Terror was far more fascinating than the previous chapter 'C is for Cucumber' for although cucumbers are delicious, they are nowhere near as interesting as dragons.

"Oh Tuffnut; you're not trying to read that kids book again are you?" my sibling asked as she exited the bathroom.

"I am indeed, for I must keep up with my education if I want to be a doctor someday."

"A DOCTOR?" she cried out in surprise "How could a witless moron like you ever hope to become a doctor?"

Something was wrong, not normal and it was not my sisters chiding insult; that was very normal. At first I could not quite put my finger on it until finally, it struck like a Skrill in a thunderstorm.

"Your tatty grey underwear."

"What about it?" she sneered.

"It's not as tatty and nowhere near as grey as it normally is. What are you up to?"

"Why do I have to be up to something, can't a girl attempt to improve herself?"

"A girl, yes but not someone as homely as you."

"Shut up Doctor Witless or I'll start practicing medical procedures on you in your sleep."

"Hang on a minute" I pondered out loud "if I'm the one that wants to be a doctor, then why would you be the one...?"

But I lost my train of thought when something else drew my attention; over on the other side of the room, laid carefully out on Ruffnuts bed were clothes cleaner than anything I had ever seen her wear before.

"You are up to something" I noted accusingly "so spill."

"Oh alright" she relented "today I am gonna bag me my man; today I become betrothed."

"Ahh" I nodded "in that case I approve of your cleanliness strategy; no man wants his woman's stench to outdo his own. So who is the lucky young man then, Fishlegs or Snotlout?"

"Ugh... too boring and way too creepy; I've got my sights set much higher."

I must admit that I was truly baffled as I contemplated whom she could mean "Gustav? He is a bit young but in time..."

"HICCUP YOU IDIOT" she shouted so loud that my left ear began to bleed "that wild and crazy, not to mention sexy, Dragon Master."

"Ah Hiccup... but wait... what about Astrid?"

"I don't roll that way brother" she sneered at me.

"What? No, I mean aren't Astrid and Hiccup... you know... a couple."

"A couple of what?"

"A betrothed couple, future husband and wife, that sort of thing."

"She dumped him, remember?"

"Err... no, when did this happen?"

"Five years ago; Hiccup asked her to be his girlfriend, she said yes but then a few days later" my sister smiled with delight as she put on her clean clothes "she dumped him. Astrid's had her chance, now it's my turn."

"But someone told me, that when he woke up last week, Astrid kissed him."

"Lots of people did; we were all glad to see he was alright."

"And I hear that they went on a romantic picnic a few days ago."

"I SAID SHE'S HAD HER CHANCE and now it's my turn."

"Okay... if you say so" I decided to follow her as she departed from our home and started down Gobber Street towards the forge where we found the Dragon Master working not in iron, but in leather."

"Hey there gorgeous" my homely sister gave a homely grin "whatcha makin'?"

"It's a long distance saddle for Stormfly" Hiccup replied without taking his eyes off of his work "Do you think I should include a sort of backrest/axe rack combination or would Astrid be better off with her battleaxe slung on her back like it usually is?"

"Who cares about silly old Astrid and her silly old axe" Ruffnut leant forward and blew softly in Hiccups ear "we've got our own future to consider."

"What err... are you talking about Ruff, and why are you standing so close to me?"

"Oh I think we could be closer than this... much closer."

"Alright you Love struck Boneknapper" Astrid suddenly appeared in the doorway "what are you doing moving in on my territory?"

"Am I your territory?" Hiccup grinned "Neat."

"Hey... you dumped him, remember?" my sister accused forcefully "so he's free, and I'm free; we were made for each other. How do you feel about a spring wedding snookums?"

"What are you talking about Ruffnut?" Astrid objected "I never dumped Hiccup."

"Actually you did" Hiccup interrupted "five years ago... you were my girlfriend for a while... until you inexplicitly called it off."

I noticed two very odd things at that moment; the first being that Hiccup was quite upset at the memory of what had happened five years prior, and the second was that Astrid seemed to be having much difficulty remembering what was being discussed. As I watched her however, I saw the light of realisation grow in her eyes as the events of the past came to mind once more.

"I remember now" Astrid nodded and took Hiccups hand "I am sorry about that... I didn't mean to hurt your feelings; will you forgive me?"

"Of course" he smiled and kissed her cheek; this upset my sister greatly.

"OH COME ON" she huffed "he was supposed to be my boyfriend. Why did you do it Astrid? Why did you dump him back then, if you want him now? It's not fair."

"I'm sorry Ruff" Astrid apologised "I really didn't mean to upset anyone... I just... made a mistake."

"I'm serious Astrid, tell me; why did you dump Hiccup back then?"

"I don't know, I was just a silly little girl I guess."

This made perfect sense to me because as children we were all quite foolish at times, but my fair sibling was having none of this excuse and she aired her doubts as soon as Astrid had left the blacksmiths shop.

"Even back when she was ten, Astrid was the most level headed young lady on Berk. It just doesn't make sense; tell me what you remember from that time Hiccup and leave nothing out" She insisted.

"Oh... err, well... it's so hard to recall..."

"Start from the beginning" Ruffnut paced back and forth stroking her chin "when you first asked her to be... your girl."

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**I finished all four chapters of this story a week ago but did not have the chance to proof and polish before my first eye op, which was a success (yay). It is taking it's time to heal but I can now finish this tale off thanks to my left eye compensation (which means I am using both eyes but lefty is doing all the work) The upside is that I can publish this story sooner than I had hoped and start Act 2 of 'Dragonish Wedding' now. Next zapping is on the 30****th**** of March so I hope to get a few chapters done before I have to stop writing again.**

**Please write a review if you like this story and stick you head in a bucket of water if you don't (this is just a joke so you don't ******really** have to stick you head in a bucket... the kitchen sink will do nicely). ;-D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Over 300 hits on Berk: Year One on the first day of this new story and not one review (picture if you will, a tubby middle aged man with a short beard, pouting to himself - that's me).  
**

** Just for that, none of you are invited to my birthday party... and we're having Black Forest Cake too!**

**Second day brought a review with a question that I could not answer because it was from a Guest reader so I will answer it now. Sorry if I did not make it clear but story is set a week after the movie so they are all fifteen years old and the time they were discussing was five years ago when they were ten. Hope that clears up any confusion (you may have some cake).**

* * *

The Case of the Fickle Lady

Chapter 2: A Brief Encounter

The Dragon Master sat down on his work bench next to the saddle he was making and after some thought he began to tell his tale.

"It was Snotlout, believe it or not, who first gave me the opportunity to win Astrid over."

"Alright, wait a minute" I interrupted him "even I find that hard to believe; Snotlout... helping you?"

I soon came to regret giving my input when one of Gobbers smaller anvils struck me a glancing blow on the side of my helmet.

"SHUT UP WITLESS, I'M CONCENTRATING" my beloved sister tactfully informed me "go on Hiccup."

"Well he was being so obnoxious, so... Snotloutish, that I was able to open up to Astrid and reveal my true feelings. Even as a ten year old, he liked showing off his muscles to her and saying that since he was the strongest, most handsome and desirable of all the boys on Berk, that Astrid had better jump to it and snap him up before some other girl did. When she had finished throwing up, I went to talk to her."

"What did you say?" Ruffnut took her diary out of her vest and began to take notes.

"I said don't let Snotlout upset you too much, I know he's as subtle as a drunken Yak but I can understand why he acts that way around you... after all... you're amazing. This surprised Astrid and she asked me what I meant, so I decided to go for it. I told her of how happy I was to have her as my friend because she was easy to talk to, impressive to train with and just generally great to be around. I decided to try being the humble suitor, so I told her that I would love to be her boyfriend but I would understand if she didn't want that, because Snotlout was stronger, Fishlegs was smarter and Tuffnut was more fun but no matter what, I would always be her friend."

"Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup; how could you be so stupid" I remarked, but then I noticed my homely sister had a tear in her eye.

"Oh Hiccup" she sniffed "that was beautiful; no wonder she fell for you."

"I didn't expect her to fall for me... and she didn't, but I was rather surprised when she did tell me that she liked me too and would be happy to be my girlfriend. Well I was over the moon; she let me kiss her on the cheek and hold her hand for a few minutes and I thought my heart was going to pop."

"So what happened to change all that" Ruffnut asked; I could see by the look on her face that she was puzzled.

"I'm not sure... everything was wonderful for the next few days; we would spend more time together, I'd help with her chores and then she'd help with mine, we would train with our little wooden swords and sometimes we'd sneak off to a dark little corner somewhere to steal a kiss but then... well... it all came to a sudden grinding halt. My dad sent me down to the river early one morning to fill the water buckets and while I was down there, I saw a field of wild flowers and so I picked some to give to Astrid. When I was nearly home, I saw her hurrying out of the village and she looked a little upset, so I was glad I had gotten the flowers because I thought they were bound to cheer her up a bit, but I was very wrong."

Hiccup sighed a deep sigh but neither Ruffnut nor I could stand the tension.

"WELL" we both cried out "WHAT HAPPENED?"

"I put the buckets down and chased after her but when I took her hand, she spun around and snatched it back; she was angry... very angry. She yelled at me and told me not to touch her... never to touch her again and... well... that was that."

"Didn't she like the flowers?" Ruffnut asked but Hiccup said that he doubted if she even noticed them.

"After that, I just kept my distance for a while and eventually managed to get back to being her friend."

"So you never found out why she was so angry?" Ruffnut attempted to jog Hiccups memory.

"No I didn't... and I must admit that I'm still too scared to ask."

I followed my homely sibling as she left the blacksmiths shop deep in thought.

"I guess we'll never find out what was going on with Astrid back then" I noted "let's go get Barf and Belch and see what we can set fire too."

"Not just yet my brother. I'm not sure that I believe Astrid when she says that she cannot remember why she broke off her relationship with the Chief's son. It's true that she had forgotten the incident, but when the memory returned, I feel sure that she would also have remembered what her reasons were; what she was feeling at the time."

"Amazing, but how can you be so sure?" I asked her.

"Hiccup's memories of the time are quite precise and I believe that was because of the intense emotion that he was feeling at the time. Now from what he revealed to us about Astrids emotional state that fateful day, one can only assume that unless she has suffered from some great head trauma, her memories of that day must be just as precise. Now Astrid does not have live with you my brother, so it is unlikely that she has received such a head injury and this leads me to conclude that she does remember, but does not wish to reveal the details."

"Astounding; how do you do it?" I asked impressed.

"Simple logic and deductive reasoning; come along Witless, the game is afoot."

"But where are we going Homely?"

"To see the one man who can give us some insight into what was happening at the time; the man closest to Hiccup, his father."

* * *

**Back in the 1985, I got myself a Commodore Amiga 500 computer. What a great games machine it was with its 5 ¼ inch floppy drive (no more 20-40 minute game loading from a cassette tape), advanced graphics and 8 bit sound; the greatest game I had for it was called 'Elite'. Starting off with a tiny gutless, under armed spaceship, I spent many happy hours flying around a geometrically shaped galaxy delivering cargo, mining asteroids and taking out pirates... a few days ago I saw the new version called 'Elite Dangerous' on Good Game (TV program) that boasts a 1 to 1 scale galaxy to explore.**

**I AM GETTING ME AN XBOX ONE :-D  
**

**(also, right eye healing well - yay!)  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, okay so I lied about the Black Forest Cake and yes, my birthday is eight and a half months away - you guys and gals are nowhere near as gulible as Moon is. Anyway... here's the next bit... enjoy (or else).**

* * *

The Case of the Fickle Lady

Chapter 3: Parental Guidance Recommended

Stoick the Vast, High Chief of Berk was a very busy man. This in itself was normal but ever since he and his people had returned from Dragon Island just over a week ago with some new friends, Stoick had taken busy to a whole new level. This was not a problem however for although he had a lot on his plate, I had never seen Stoick happier in my entire life.

"See if you can get those Gronckles to settle down on the other side of the arena" Stoick ordered Spitelout and Ivar "they can munch on rocks to their hearts content over there without causing any more avalanches in the middle of the village."

"Trouble Chief?" my sister enquired as we approached.

"Oh nothing serious" Stoick grinned "just a little rockslide, but I'll tell you one thing; sorting out a group of friendly dragons in the daylight, is much easier than fighting off an attacking hoard in the middle of the night, and those precious little darlings were just hungry."

"In that case, I wanted to ask you about Hiccup and Astrid."

"Ah yes... isn't it wonderful? And if all goes well, maybe she'll be my daughter in law some day... won't that be great?"

"Terrific... just terrific" Ruffnut declared with absolutely no expression on her face whatsoever "but I'm interested in what happened five years ago and more specifically, why did Astrid dump Hiccup so suddenly and un-ceremonially?"

"Ah yes" the big man's countenance fell "I had almost forgotten about that. You know... if you think about it for a minute, it was not long after that happened when Hiccup started to turn in on himself. He was spending more time alone or in his workshop, and then he started coming up with all those disastrous inventions; it was not a good time for anyone."

"But what do you think made Astrid act that way?" I asked our illustrious leader.

"I didn't know then, and I don't know now" Stoick sighed "I often used to wonder if I should have tried harder to find out. Maybe you should talk to Mrs. Hofferson; if anyone can give you some insight into Astrid's thoughts back then, it would be her and if you do discover anything, please let me know."

"Will do Chief" Ruffnut promised as we left him to his work.

* * *

Astrid's mother tried to help us, but there were many things that she was unsure of as well.

"That was a very strange time in Astrid's life" Mrs. Hofferson admitted "I remember how annoyed she was with Snotlout and all the unwanted attention he was giving her. She would always have much more fun if she was playing with Fishlegs and Hiccup or with you two, but she would always get upset if I called it playing because she insisted time and time again that it was training, always training. To tell the truth though, I've never heard anyone giggle and laugh so much while 'Training', have you?"

"Err... no Mrs. Hofferson; but if you think about it, Snotlout has long been a thorn in her side so I must have been something else."

"Well not so much something else, but something more; you see Astrid was growing of course and it was about then that I told her that one day in the future, she would have to decide about what she would do with her life, including would she marry and if so, then to who. It was a short time later when she came home and told me that Hiccup was now her boyfriend and would be him, and not Snotlout, that she would marry someday."

"Hmmm... interesting" Ruffnut scribbled in her notebook.

"Of course, I thought this was a good thing" Mrs. Hofferson continued "and I used it as an excuse to start teaching Astrid all the things she would need to know as she became an adult over the next ten years. I took her with me when I went to Big Freya's house to help Olvor with the birth of Little Freya, to Gobber's when he was preparing one of our many feasts, Bork Day I think it was, and she helped me when the village was rebuilding the Ingerman home after a dragon attack."

Mrs. Hofferson stopped and sighed "I wondered at the time if I pushed her too much when she suddenly became very angry and called off her relationship with Hiccup, but after a few days she settled down and was very eager to keep learning so it must have been something else that turned her against him... I'm very glad that they're back together again though" she smiled.

"Hmm... yes, aren't we all" Ruffnut had that same expressionless expression again.

* * *

We left the Hofferson home and followed up some of the leads that Astrid's mother had given us but so many houses had been rebuilt over the last five years, that no one could remember that particular day with the Ingerman home. Gobber told us that Astrid was very happy and helpful when she worked on the Bork Day Feast, and Olvor said that she was so busy with Little Freya's delivery, that she didn't even notice who was there at the time.

"I'm beginning to think this was a bad Idea" Ruffnut admitted.

I watched on silently as my sister put her diary back in her pocket and made her way back to our abode when suddenly, I was accosted by the very subject of our investigation.

"Alright Tuffnut, do you want to explain to me why you are going around the village poking your nose into my business?"

As Astrid held on tightly to my collar and drew back her fist threateningly, I began to wonder if I had made the right choice by joining Ruffnut in this venture.

* * *

**All will be revealed in the next and final chapter of 'The Case of the Fickle Lady' so I am wondering if anyone has worked out the answer yet. I have never tried to do anything like this before so I don't know if I have made the solution too obvious, or too vague, so if you think you know the reason for Astrid's behaviour when she was ten, send me a P.M. about it and I will let you know if you are right or not.**

**Final chapter in a few days, Marty &amp; Moon.**


	9. Chapter 9

The Case of the Fickle Lady

Chapter 4: The Truth Revealed

I wasn't sure who was more frightened at that moment, Astrid or me. But then I realised that this was my big chance to get some fresh, cool looking injuries so the one most frightened must be... wait a minute... why was Astrid so frightened?

"Err... we didn't mean to upset you and for what it's worth, we didn't find out anything" I told her.

Astrid dropped me as un-ceremonially as she'd dropped Hiccup all those years ago and I fell to the ground with a thud. As I picked myself up and brushed off the dust, I noticed she had wandered over to one of the dragon feeders and sat herself down on a log seat. I was not surprised that she chose to sit over there; the aroma of the fish was enchanting.

"I'm sorry Tuff; it's just that I was kind of hoping that everyone would have forgotten all that by now. I was surprised when Ruffnut brought it up... and a little bit horrified when Hiccup remembered it so clearly; did you notice how hurt he looked... even after all these years."

I had not noticed and I admitted it to her, but it was safe to say that I was not in love with him as she was.

"It's a secret I thought I would never have to admit to myself... or face up to again."

"Honestly Astrid, without knowing about it, I don't know what to say."

She looked into my eyes and sighed a little, realising that the time had come for her to face her inner demons.

"Everything was fine when Hiccup said that he wanted to be my boyfriend; I was really pleased that someone with brains could fall for all of me and not just see me as a pretty face."

"He did think you were pretty though; he still does" I noted.

"Yes but he also looked past that. I didn't really know it back then... I was too young, but he's the kind of guy I can work with, talk to and... love... forever."

"So what changed your mind so... emphatically?"

"I find it hard to believe that you even know what 'Emphatically' really means."

"HEY, I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU HERE" I feigned anger, hoping that she would not ask me for any evidence of my knowledge – it worked... thank Thor.

"Sorry Tuff... what happened... was this; I'd only been Hiccups girlfriend for a few days and in that time I'd started spending a bit more time with my mother; doing things, learning things, I was having so much fun... then the time came for Little Freya to join us. Olvor came to our house and asked Mom to assist with the birth and without being asked, I just followed along. Mom noticed and didn't seem to mind so I started asking questions like how did Olvor know that it was the right time for the baby to come, and she said the baby knew when the time was right. That confused me a bit because I assumed that Big Freya would decide or Olvor the Doctor would tell her when; of course back then, I didn't even know how the baby got there..."

"I still don't... how do they?"

"Oh Tuffnut" she shook her head "talk to your father... soon. Well the birth was nothing like I expected; so messy, so much yelling... and the blood. Well I just stayed back out of the way and tried not to throw up, and when it was all over, everyone was happy even though Freya looked exhausted... like she had just sprinted around the island a thousand times."

"Wow" I was quite stunned "Mess, yelling and blood; it sounds like battle."

Astrid shook her head and chuckled at me "It kind of was a battle" she admitted before she continued.

"I was very quiet on the way home afterwards but I did have a hundred questions swimming around in my head and so I asked my Mom how long it would be, before anything like that would happen to me; frankly Tuff, I was terrified. Well Mom just laughs and says that I wouldn't have to worry about that until after I was married and it would be my husband who would give me the baby."

"Oh I see; so he gets it from Trader Johann does he?"

I was most upset when Astrid fell backwards off the log and rolled on the ground laughing; it seemed for a while that she would never stop. Eventually she managed to compose herself and repeated that I really needed to talk with my father. After she had sat back on the log and controlled her giggling, she concluded her story.

"When I heard what Mom said, I decided then and there that I would never get married; never let any man get anywhere near me and that was why..." she stopped and sighed "why I was so mean to Hiccup."

When she had finished, Astrid actually thanked me for listening and said that a huge weight had been lifted from her.

"Hiccup is still carrying that weight" I suggested "From what he told me and Ruffnut this morning, I think he's still worried that you may change your mind about him again and leave at any time."

"You're right Tuff" she agreed "if he's ever going to feel confident about my feelings for him, I have to fess up; thank you."

To my surprise Astrid then leant over and kissed me on the cheek. As she ran off towards the Forge, I noticed Snotlout passing by; the shocked expression on his face was priceless.

"What the... why did she..." was all he could manage to say so I decided to mess with his brain a little.

"Yeah I know" I smiled "but I told her that there could never be anything serious between us and she would be better off sticking with Hiccup."

I often wonder how much time passed before Snotlout managed to close his mouth again. I wandered home the long way round, passed the forge and noticed Hiccup and Astrid sitting on the workbench, holding hands and talking earnestly; it was heartening to see another weight being lifted from someone, so I decided to go and help out my sister the same way by letting her know, what I now knew... and after that... I think I'll go and talk to my Dad.

* * *

**And so another story comes to an end and I am heading back to the doctor for another eye zap. Well done to ****Lady Midoriko Kagome: Noble Daughter to the House of Ki, Ruler of Rodan Palace and Keeper of the Dragons Tear (Midi) for working out the reason for Astrids behaviour and thanks to all for reading and reviewing; I've really enjoyed writing this little one.**


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